In the flat Mississippi Delta, space can only be held temporarily. The vista pulls. Providing pause requires a special kind of anchoring. Like a group of pasture trees making a shady perimeter and a deep interior, the project creates in-between space around its periphery, while protecting a contemplative library interior.
While the James H. White Library has durably and functionally housed the library’s collections, it has fallen short in its contribution to the quality of student and campus life. Located in the exact center of campus, its brutal and relatively solid exterior left the significant green spaces on all sides feeling isolated. The bi-axially symmetrical and imposing building occupied that center with a cold and stagnant stance that begged for transformation. Mississippi Valley State University is a historically black university in an economically depressed region so the funds were limited. Transformation would have to occur with strategic and limited interventions.
Vertical strokes break the rigidity of horizontal lines and distribute energy around the previously static facades. These new two-story light bays open the building to the campus, inviting students in to study and learn and bringing indirect natural light into the library center.
The library stacks occupy the building center on both floors. Here occupants and collections are enclosed but also drawn out to open corners. Information and research kiosks are dropped into this center and bridge the scale between library patrons and the building-at-large. Cellular inner service buildings protect and surround while the light-filled corner reading rooms beckon.
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